Bookmark this page

share this article

follow Us

Indonesia is set to assist Sri Lanka in infrastructure development, as the two countries look forward to bolstering bilateral cooperation and beyond, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has said.

On the sidelines of his two-day state visit to Vietnam, Jokowi met with Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at Melia Hotel in Hanoi on Wednesday, during which they discussed ways to improve cooperation and trade relations between the two nations.

Jokowi said during the meeting that Indonesia was committed to supporting railway development in Sri Lanka, which has expressed interests in importing 60 trains from Indonesia.

"Indonesia also offers the ‘complete package’ of cooperation, including the purchase of train facilities and infrastructure, such as railways, stations, depots and the signaling system," Jokowi said on Wednesday.

Indonesia's state-owned construction company PT Wijaya Karya (Wika) is also interested in participating in the construction of a steel bridge in Sri Lanka, Jokowi went on to say.

During the occasion, Jokowi and Wickremesinghe also followed up on plans made during the former's visit to Colombo in January, including the two countries' joint efforts to export textile products to European countries.

"Our joint efforts to propose the export of garments to the European Commission will open market access to the European Union. We must continue our intensive approach so that the European Union will receive our proposal," Jokowi said.

The President also called for the establishment of a joint working group in trade and investment to ease bilateral cooperation and push for the start of joint feasible studies on efforts to draft an Indonesia-Sri Lanka free trade agreement. (afr/ahw)